MN voters back voter-ID amendment 76/18

posted at 8:43 am on May 27, 2011 by Ed Morrissey

Mark Dayton vetoed a new voter-ID bill in Minnesota because he said it lacked “broad bipartisan legislative support.” Perhaps he should have considered what the people of Minnesota thought rather than his coterie of DFL party hacks in St. Paul. A new poll conducted by Survey USA puts Dayton squarely in the 18% fringe of Minnesota politics:

According to our exclusive new SurveyUSA poll, 76% of Minnesotans say they’d vote in favor of voter ID. Only 18% oppose the idea.

Well, a 76% support level is hardly bipartisan, is it? Why, it’s only the crazed Tea Party wingnuts that really support voter ID requirements, right? Not exactly. Let’s take a look at the internals, shall we?

Age demographics – The lowest level of support in age groups comes from seniors, who back voter ID 69/23. The best support comes, surprisingly, from the youngest voters (18-34YOs) at 82/12.

Party affiliation – Yes, 92% of Republicans support voter ID. So do 76% of independents … and 59% of those wingnutty Democrats in Minnesota, too. Among Tea Party “members,” voter ID enjoys 93% support. And for those who don’t identify with the Tea Party, support plummets all the way to … 74%. Along ideological lines, liberals were least likely to support it — at 67%, the second-lowest level of support among all demographics.

Education – Surely, support must be coming from the mouthbreathers, right? High-school graduates give a 79% level of support, almost the same as the 78% among those with some college education. Those with degrees are a little more discerning … at 75%.

Income level – It won’t be much of a surprise to know that those making six figures support voter ID 73/25. It will be a surprise to Dayton to find that those making less than $50K per year support it even more, 78/14.

Region – Like all of the other demographics, there isn’t much difference between the Twin Cities demo (76/19) and the rural area of western Minnesota (81/15). In each region, support is at 75% or higher.

Dayton may think that voter ID doesn’t have broad bipartisan support, but that’s because Dayton doesn’t get out of the mansion much. All he knows is what he hears from the entrenched DFL party machine, which fears voter ID as an end to their opportunities to manipulate elections. After years of Election Day shenanigans, even two-thirds of self-described liberals have had enough.

And if that’s true in Minnesota, just imagine how voters feel in areas outside of the “progressive” Midwest.

Addendum: Survey USA’s big takeaway from the poll is that Tim Pawlenty trails Barack Obama by five points in a hypothetical head-to-head match. Pawlenty just started running, so that’s hardly unexpected. It will only be a big problem for Pawlenty if he doesn’t eventually close that gap. It’s worth remembering, though, that Obama won Minnesota by twice that gap in 2008 over John McCain, who was supposed to be pretty popular in this state.